Alastair

has published 484 posts

I'm a specialist travel journalist writing about battlefield sites, technical museums, military history, transport infrastructure, electric vehicles, amazing engineering & architecture, industrial heritage… and where you can see it. I’ve been a travel editor & presenter since 1989, originally in local radio, then national & international radio (Classic FM) before moving online just before the millennium. I’ve been an active member of the travel creative community since 2010 and a regular speaker at social media travel conferences. I’m an accredited member of the British Guild of Travel Writers (former Chair & Vice-Chair). I am co-author of Bradt: D-Day Landings – A travel guide to Normandy’s beaches and battlegrounds.

Author Archives: Alastair

Blue X on the move

It’s a serious piece of engineering, can you guess what Blue X is? Blue X is a wave machine, designed by Mocean Energy to generate green energy from the movement of the waves. Essentially, it pivots in the middle, and that’s where the generator is. This 10-kW...

How an Enigma Machine works

Next time you go to Bletchley Park, you might want to take a look beforehand at this really clear and simple explanation of how the WW2 German Enigma machine worked. It’s the latest video in Jared Owen’s series of 3D animations explaining how things work, and it...

The Antoigné Foundry in Sarthe, France

The Antoigné Foundry (Fonderie d’Antoigné) is an industrial heritage centre* run by volunteers of the Antoigné-Chappée Founders Association. It is located on the former site of a large ironworks, originally a small forge established in the 17th century at Antoigné in the commune of Sainte Jamme sur...